Earth Island News

Reef Protection International

A revolution for the oceanThe
world suffered a recent enormous human tragedy on the Indian Oceans
shores. Oceans themselves have also suffered greatly in the past year.
Millions of tons of waste have been dumped into the ocean, 100 million
tons of fish have been culled, and nearly 30 million tons of ocean
megafauna  sharks, sea turtles, albatrosses, and dolphins  have been
killed, as well as small fish and other creatures nobody wants to eat.

Canned
tuna now contains enough mercury to poison unborn children, damaging
their nervous systems. At sea, oceanographers find six times as much
plastic as plankton. During this century, oceans will warm a degree and
the sea level will rise another foot  enough to disrupt deep ocean
circulation, melt more of the icecaps, and affect animals from snails
to polar bears. But the coming decade will emerge as an era of progress
in conservation and the culture of sustainability.

We are the Internet generation. We understand that networks of information connect all living things.

We
have breakthrough information  knowledge about life on earth and in
the ocean. A combination of space-based and molecular technologies and
interdisciplinary research has deepened our understanding of the
oceans. We know that some animals migrate 7,500 miles between Japan and
California, and that deep-sea species live without light and oxygen.
From space, we measure ocean temperatures in any location at any moment
and we can combine and analyze this knowledge using high-speed
computers.

We are a generation that communicates. Papers
published today in Science are read around the world in 20 languages
tonight. Were not afraid to share and were mystified by those who
dont. Kids no longer have to wait for Jacques Cousteau to make another
documentary; the airwaves are full of ocean wonders. Thousands of ocean
camps, marine labs, aquaria, and nature centers have expert guides who
work to promote learning and inspire social change.

Organizations like Reef Protection International (RPI) are creating innovative market-based tools to help conserve the worlds fragile coral reefs. On World Oceans Day (June 8), RPI helped launch the Ocean Revolution, a new wave of ocean advocacy, personal responsibility, and local
action, in the spirit of John F. Kennedy, who said [T]here are some
revolutions which humanity accomplishes without quite knowing how,
because it is everybody who takes them in hand. Thousands of people
who care deeply about the fate of the oceans are joining together to
transform our relationship with the sea, each in our own way and as
part of the connected whole.

Later this summer, RPI will initiate
a campaign to educate the public about the marine aquarium trade. As
part of this campaign, a pocket guide will be distributed that will
outline which fish purchases contribute to coral reef conservation and
which to avoid. This effort will not only help increase public interest
in coral reef conservation, but will also help ensure that the
enjoyment of aquaria supports the sustainability and health of coral
reefs in the wild.